Walking To Fall Bay

The Walking Forum Tastes of Gower walk at Rhosilli on the Gower Peninsula took us round from the Worm’s Head to Fall Bay, a place I had not been to for many years. Being a beautiful day there were inevitably more people than us out for a walk, but even though I prefer a solitary walk to a group walk generally speaking, Fall Bay is secluded enough to enjoy in almost any circumstances.

The series of cliffs that form the south Gower coastline are particularly impressive at Fall Bay. This is enhanced by the fact that you can approach them from the seaward side as the land curves around towards the Worm’s Head which is behind us in this first photo.

walking on the Gower Peninsula

Cliffs at Fall Bay

Cliff Walk Views

My posts this week are about a recent walk along the cliffs at the end of the Gower Peninsula.  Gower Landscapes Partnership and Swansea Walking Forum have been organising a series of walks on the Gower peninsula this year. As a member of the Walking Forum I have been taking part in these Tastes of Gower walks. The most recent was at Rhosilli where the Worm’s Head spits out into the sea.

It was a very enjoyable walk on a beautiful day. Walking out from Rhosilli to the tip of the peninsula and the Worm’s Head, we had spectacular views from the cliffs over Rhosilli Bay. People and dogs on the beach looked smaller than ants!

We didn’t venture onto the Worm’s Head, though the tide times on that day would have allowed it. The tide times are shown on a large notice at the start of the path to the Head but despite this many people get caught out and end up stranded on the island. Many of these, so I am told, are from China and don’t speak English, yet it has not occurred to the Coast Guard that has top go and fetch them by boat, to put up a similar notice in Chinese (and other languages).

Rhosilli Bay

Rhosilli Bay, Gower

Rhosilli Bay, Gower

Worm's Head, Gower

 

 

Cardiff Bay Walk and Reviewing the Week 42

The fountains across the road from the Wales Millennium Centre were at the end of our walk along Cardiff Bay barrage.

Click the first thumbnail image below to view the photos from this week’s walk in sequence (plus a couple of extras).

fountains in front of the Wales Millennium Centre

Walking Across The Bay

We didn’t take the water bus but walked across Cardiff Bay on the barrage instead. The view across the water shows the bronze roof of the Millennium Centre glinting in the sun and the red terracotta ceramic surface of the Pierhead building in front of it.

 

Cardiff Bay water taxi

Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay

Objects In The Sea

I have no idea what these objects in the sea are! I imagine the distant ones are buoys for shipping. I am pretty sure the larger structure also has something to do with shipping but as it is so close to the Cardiff Bay barrage, where we were walking, I am not sure what its purpose is. It has meteorological equipment on it and clearly it is a convenient pirch for birds – other than that all I can say is that I like the composition of uprights, horizontals and perspective in this shot.

This image can also be seen in black and white on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness 2-29.

The second photo includes Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands in there Bristol Channel.

Cardiff Bay

Flat Holm Island

Angular Starting Points

The starting point for a recent walk around Cardiff Bay can be seen below in some of the angular architecture of the area. The architecture may be one of the things that Cardiff Bay is known for but my walk this week, which took us across the barrage, will be taking an alternative look at the area and some of the features that caught my attention.

The materials of the building in the background of the second photo prove it to be the same one as is in the first shot. You may be able to tell that the first image was taken at a different time to the second as is shown by the change in weather. It’s the bird I particularly like in this photo, and the red triangle of the footbridge in the second one, or perhaps I should say the context of these elements of the images.

Cardiff Bay-16

Cardiff Bay architecture

Autumn Leaf and Reviewing the Week 41

It seems the sweet chestnut is one of the trees that sheds its leaves earliest in Autumn. This one is on its way but the stage I like these leaves best, after they have fallen, is probably into the Spring when they have been lying on the ground for months and have gone thin and papery. Their structure breaks down and their colour becomes pale, almost bleached. I have photographed them like this in the past and you can see the results in one of my previous posts here.

autumn leaf

Where The Sun Does Not Reach

The morning sun does not reach this part of the woodland footpath I was following, but there are advantages to this. The brambles here are still there for the picking, stretching out the brambling season a bit further – and they look very tasty.

woodland footpath

brambles